The invention relates to cable assemblies for electrical and electronic devices. Cables are used for a variety of devices that do not use non-rechargeable batteries, such as electrical chargers for cell and smart phones, laptop computers and tablets of all types. Cables are also commonly used for the various components of desk top computers, land line telephones as well as for appliances and tools, such as hair dryers, hair curlers, drills, etc.
At the present time, cable assemblies such as those just mentioned, cannot be easily folded and restrained into a neat, compact arrangement when in use. The existing, unrestrained cables are messy, disorderly, and they tend to crowd the work space. When not in use and stored, usually in drawers, cables, especially those that are separable from the electrical device, tend to get in the way of other items in the same drawer and become tangled with other cables.
With the proliferation of electrical and electronic devices and the non-standardization of cable assemblies necessary for using the devices or recharging them, storage of cable assemblies has become increasingly inconvenient and unorganized. This problem is most obvious for cables for tablets and laptop computers and smart and cell phone chargers, each of which typically has a cable that is different from all others. Its not unusual to find several cables with excess lengths laying on the ground or tangled in a drawer thus creating a messy, unorganized scene and unnecessarily taking up space. These problems with existing cables becomes even worse when the need arises to bring the device and its cables with you when travelling.
Moreover, these messy unorganized cables are more than just an eye sore. It is also a child safety issue. Young children can get tangled in these cables, and they can also innocently use the cables as play things to wrap around themselves and playmates. It would be most unfortunate if a child would wrap a cable around his or her neck and create a medical emergency.
In an effort to minimize these problems when using existing cables, the user can carefully “loop” the cable together and tie it up with a twist tie or rubber band, for example. However, a suitable tie or band must be found and use of them takes much time and effort.
Some manufacturers of these cables apparently are aware of the foregoing difficulties and dangers because they are making their cable assemblies shorter and shorter in an effort to minimize these problems. For example, the cable useable for iPhone® or iPad® charging and for connecting the device to a USB port is only about three feet in length. Perhaps this shortened cable is also a way of reducing the cost of making the cables. In any event, when a cable of this type is made too short, it can be inconvenient to use with an electrical device or to charge the electrical device because the device must be positioned close to an electrical outlet.
There is therefore a need for an improved way of handling, using and storing cables for electrical and electronic devices, especially those that do not use non-rechargeable batteries.